mujahideen

plural noun

mu·​ja·​hid·​een mü-ˌjä-hi-ˈdēn 

mu̇-,

-ˌja-

variants or mujahedin or less commonly mujahedeen

: Islamic guerrilla fighters especially in the Middle East

Examples of mujahideen in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Altman is right, for example, that the Soviets generally tolerated U.S. assistance to the mujahideen. —Michael Poznansky, Foreign Affairs, 3 Jan. 2025

More significant were secret aid to the mujahideen fighters in Afghanistan and Carter’s decision to accelerate the Pentagon’s development of stealth technology. —Jonathan Alter, TIME, 29 Dec. 2024

The mujahideen who took over after the… Afghanistan Unbound Two and a half years after the fall of the Taliban, Afghanistan is once more lapsing into bloody chaos. —Kathy Gannon, Foreign Affairs, 9 July 2024

Made in 2007, the film foreshadows the eventual blowback of the U.S. support of the mujahideen. —Keith Staskiewicz, EW.com, 26 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

Arabic mujāhidīn, plural of mujāhid, literally, person who wages jihad

First Known Use

1887, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

mujahideen

plural noun

mu·​ja·​hid·​een

variants or mujahedin

mü-ˌja-hid-ˈēn 

mu̇-,

-ˌjä-

: Islamic guerrilla fighters especially in the Middle East

Etymology

Arabic mujāhidīn "Islamic guerrilla fighters," plural form of mujahīd "a person who wages Islamic holy war"